Golf Club Developers Blame County for Slide : Damage: Palos Verdes project planners announce reconstruction, say leak from sewer line undermined 18th hole. Sanitation officials reject allegation.

Developers of the Ocean Trails Golf Club on the Palos Verdes Peninsula unveiled plans Tuesday for reconstruction of the landslide-damaged 18th hole and announced that their geologists blame the June collapse on runoff from a county sewer line.

Although officials at the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County deny the allegation, a report commissioned by the developers states that the leaky sewer line soaked and weakened surrounding earth with 2 million gallons of water. Geologists hired by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes tentatively confirmed the developers’ report.

The landslide, from a high bluff to the beach below, occurred June 2, just weeks before the golf club was scheduled to open.

“What it all boils down to is, there was a leaky sewer line,” said Scott Magorien, Ocean Trails chief engineering geologist. “That accumulation of water reduced the stability of the land and caused it to fail.”

County sewer officials, however, contend there is no evidence that the 1950s-era sewer line under the golf course was faulty. “It’s always been a supposition that it was the sewer line,” said John Redner, sewage department engineer. “There’s nothing there to support that supposition.”

Geology studies conducted by the developer were reviewed by a geologist for the city and by a municipal panel of three peer geologists. On Tuesday, city planner Greg Pfost said more study will be needed to determine just what caused the sewer line to leak. Possibilities include leaks that developed in joints over time, or damage that was caused during construction of the golf course.

At a Tuesday news conference, developer Robert Zuckerman announced that reconstructing the 18th hole would cost well into “eight figures.”

Among other repair steps, the developers plan to bulldoze 800,000 square yards of earth into a gaping, horseshoe-shaped sinkhole that was caused by the slide and will insert 3-foot-thick rods into the ground to anchor the slide area. Additional measures include the construction of an underground buttress nearby and new drainage systems aimed at preventing the earth from becoming sodden.